Superheater unit support



' March 3, 1936,

B. SMITH 2,03

SUPERHEATER UNIT SUPPORT File d Oct. 20, 19:54

2 Sheets-S heet l INVENTOR A'TTORNEY March 3, 1936. B, SWTH USUPERHEATER UNIT SUPPORT Filed 001;. 20, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 55/?7' JM/T/f. BY a ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 3, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Bert Smith, "Teaneck, N. J., assignor to The superheater Company, New York, N. Y.

Application October 20, 1934, Serial No. 749,160

6 Claims.

My invention relates to devices for supporting tubular units within hues of larger tubes.

A certain type of support has been widely used for supporting superheater units in locomotive smoke flues. Such supports have given very good satisfaction on most of the railroads using them, but certain difiiculties have developed, the causes of which are considered to be a high unit pressure between the support and the inner surface of the tube and an unnecessary number of parts together with a form offering considerable obstruction to cinders in the gas stream.

It is .the principal object of my invention to provide a support adapted for use with superheater units in locomotive smoke fiues which shall have ample bearing surface and offer minimum resistance to gas and cinder movement as well as having a minimum number of parts.

The novel features of the invention are'pointed out in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, together with its objects and advantages, will best be understood from the following detailed description of several forms of support in accordance with my invention which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and have been selected as exemplifications of the invention from a number of possible embodiments thereof. In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a smoke flue of a locomotive containing a superheater unit carried on a, support in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on a line 2-2, of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional plan view of the arrangements shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a metal blank of the kind used to make the support shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Fig. 5 is an end view of the support appearing in Fig. 4 in partially manufactured form.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional View of a portion of a locomotive smoke flue and a portion of a unit therein supported by a support different from that of Fig. l but also within my invention.

Fig. 7 is a section on a line 'l-l of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a sectional plan of the unit and support shown in Figs. 6 and '7.

Fig. 9 is a blank of the kind used in making the support illustrated in Fig. 6.

Fig. 10 is a plan view of a blank used in making a support somewhat analogous to that shown in Figs. 7 and 8 but having a different form.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, I0 is a portion of a locomotive smoke flue within which is a superheater unit comprising two parallel tubes [-2 and 14. Tubes-I2 and 14 are supported from the inner lower face of the flue Ill by a support l6 having an arcuate bottom section l8 which fits the inner surface of flue l0 and contacts therewith over a considerable surface, extending over a wide arc and also over quite a distance parallel tothe axis of the flue. At the ends of the bottom section IS, the support I6 has short sections '20, bent away from flue l0 toward the centre of the arc of base :8 and at the inner ends of the sections 20 the metal of which the support 16 is formed is bent into eyes or loops 22, 22 shown as closely embracing the tubes l2 and I4. From the sections 20, the metal curves inwardly beneath and in contact with the lower faces of tubes I 2 and M, then up between such tubes and across their tops so that the loops 22 are complete circles. At the point where their outer ends meet the radial sections 28, the metal of support i6 is formed into other short radial sections 24, 24 securely fastened to sections 20, rivets 26, 26 being shown for this purpose although I do not limit myself to any particular connecting means between parts 20 and 24. Atthe elevation "of the centers of tubes I2 and I4, eyes 22 are connected by means facilitating bending the metal forming the eyes around such tubes, a spacing block 28 fastened to the eyes by rivets 30, 30 being shown for this purpose.

It will be seen that the support I6 is primarily a unitary piece of metal, it being quite permissible to substitute weld metal for the spacing block 28 and welds for the rivets 26. I therefore prefer to fabricate the support in accordance with my invention from a single flat metal piece or blank 18A such as that shown in Fig. 4. Such blank has apertures 32, 32 cut therein to further facilitate bending the portions for eyes 22 around tubes l2 and I4. However, I do not limit myself to this. In fabricating support Hi, the center portion of blank WA is first bent to provide the arcuate base portion IS, the radial portions 20 and portions of the eyes 22, and the portions of the blank opposite its central transverse line connected by the block 28 and rivets 30 as shown in Fig. 5. The tubes [2 and I4 can then be placed in the sockets formed by the lower portions of the eyes 22, the free ends of the blank projecting up between the tubes l2 and I4, as will be clear from Fig. 5, and the outer ends of the blank then bent down around tubes l2 and I4 and fastened to the arcs 20.

The form of the invention embodied in the support It illustrated in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 is analogous to the support l6 illustrated in Figs. 1, 2,

and 3, in having the same kind of arcuate base section I8. Device I6, however, has eye portions 22 different from the eyes 22 of support I6 and support I6 moreover, omits the block 28 and the rivets 30 and their equivalents. As shown in Figs. 6, '7 and 8, support I6 has short radial sections 20 identical with sections 20 of support I6. At the inner ends of the sections 20, however, the ends of the metal forming the support I6, while extendin beneath the tubes I2 and I4 toward the centre of the smoke flue then run up between the two tubes I2 and I4 and. cross over as shown in Fig. '7 between the tubes so that the metal extending up from the section on the right hand side of the support as it appears in Fig. 7, runs across the top of the left hand tube I4 and then down to an end section 24' which is connected to the left handsection 20. Similarly, the portion of the metal of support I6 which extends inwardly from the left hand radial section 20 beneath tube I4 is carried up between the two tubes and across the top of the right hand tube I2 and then down to an end section 24 which is fixed to the right hand radial section 20. Rivets 26, 26 are shown forconnecting parts 20 and 24' in Figs. 5, 7 and 8 but welding may be used instead. It will be seen therefore that each of the eyes 22' of the device I6 is formed in part of one section of metal and in part of another instead of wholly of one sec tion of metal as in Figs. 1 to 3. The blank I6B from which the device I6 is preferably formed is shown in Fig. 9. It will be seen that the extensions forming the body portions of blank IBB for completing the eyes 22 and for forming the short sections 24' lie on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the blank I6B so that such extensions can cross each other between the tubes I2 and I4 as shown in Fig. 7 in forming the eyes 22.

In Fig. 10, I have illustrated a third form of blank I6C to be used in making still another form of support within my invention, the complete support according to such third form, however, not being illustrated. Such third form of support is fabricated from blank "SC in the same manner as the support I6 is fabricated from the blank I6B. It will be seen, however, that one end of blank I6C has two extensions for completing tube embracing eyes whereas its other end has only one, it being intended that the single extension on one end of the blank shall lie between the two extensions on the other end of the blank in the completed article, the extensions from the two ends crossing, however, similar to the manner of crossing such extensions in forming the eyes 22 (Fig. 7). 7

What I claim is:

1. A tube support having a unitary metal piece having a wide arcuate central base portion adapted to rest on the bottom of a smoke flue, portions of said piece outside said central portion curving first toward each other and then away from each other to form a pair of adjacent eyes each adapted to receive a tube, and means securing the outer ends of said piece to intermediate sections at points adjacent said base. I

2. A support for a pair of parallel tubes having a single piece of metal having a relatively wide arcuate base and having portions adapted to extend beneath and between said tubes and across the top surfaces thereof and fixed to other portions of said piece at their outer ends.

3. A support as set forth in claim 2 and in which the portions for extending between the tubes are narrower than the base portion.

4. The support as set forth in claim 1 and in which the portions forming the eyes cross near the line joining the centres of such eyes.

5. The support as set forth in claim 2 and in which the portions extending between the tubes cross each other.

6. A tube support having a unitary metal piece including a wide arcuate central base portion adapted to rest on the bottom of a smoke flue, said piece including short portions at the ends of and extending radially inward from said base portion and two portions forming two circular loops and having their ends secured to the said short portions.

BERT SMITH. 

